Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 159.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 595,653 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 365,914 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $40,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $78.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $627.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.